1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a microprocessor controlled toy building element comprising a microprocessor which can execute instructions in the form of a program stored in a memory; a display integrated in the toy; coupling means for coupling with building elements which can be moved by manoeuvring means, said manoeuvring means being controllable in response to the instructions.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In connection with the development of small, sophisticated and relatively inexpensive microprocessors it has become attractive to use these in many different consumer products—including toys. Generally, the development of toys has proceeded from simple functions such as playing of sounds in dolls, performance of simple patterns of movement in robots, etc., to the development of toys with sophisticated behaviour. The sophisticated behaviour can be recognized by a child playing with the toy and give the impression of a kind of personality. Particularly in connection with construction toys there are many possibilities of giving the toy a behaviour by combining program steps for a microprocessor controlled toy building element with a self-built mechanical structure.
Such programmable construction toys are known from the product ROBOTICS INVENTION SYSTEM from LEGO MINDSTORMS, which is a toy which can be programmed by a computer to detect a plurality of physical signals and to respond to these signals by implementing physical actions. The toy may e.g. be incorporated as a component in a vehicle by combining the toy with other toy building elements, e.g. motors, wheels, collision detectors and light detectors. Wo 90/02983 relates to a robot toy element which is controlled by a microprocessor and which can be programmed via an incorporated keyboard. The robot toy element can move according to patterns of movement and respond to external influences.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,724,074 is an example of a toy element which can be programmed. The toy element can be programmed from an external computer by means of a graphic user interface.
The above-mentioned principles of programming toy elements, however, are inexpedient for use in microprocessor controlled toy building elements. Particularly when the microprocessor controlled toy building elements can be coupled with other building elements to form a structure which can perform a pattern of movement, which depends partly on the structure and partly on the program performed by the microprocessor controlled toy building element. In such a situation, a change in the structure after it has been programmed may result in a structure which does not work. This is evident to adults, but to children who play in an intuitive—and partly unstructured—way, this will none the less be a typical situation. The known toy cannot handle such situations in a satisfactory manner.
In view of the prior art in the field, it is a problem that the programming and control facilities for microprocessor controlled toy building elements are insufficient.